Resolved
by Starsurfer108
Summary: Ch 3 up. Itachi, Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi have a showdown with Madara. Based on the revelations in chapter 397 and a translation of 398 after Madara confronts Sasuke , the Naruto story with a HAPPY ENDING! Spoilers if you hadn’t read that far.
1. The truth behind the battle with Itachi

Naruto, Kakashi and the rest of the team were racing through the trees, hot on Sasuke's trail.

"Will Sasuke be alright? What did they do to him?" Sakura asked, thinking out loud.

"There's no use worrying, Sakura," replied Kakashi. "He is no longer in the Akatsuki hideout, but that may have meant that he escaped, against their will." _Of course, the bigger issue is how will he react to us. He cut his ties with Konoha and isn't exactly friendly to us… and there is a limit to the amount we can tolerate…_

"We're almost there," said Kakashi. "Be ready."

Sprinting out from the forest, they came out into a clearing. Sasuke was a short distance away, his back to them, standing at the top of a cliff ledge. He seemed to only be staring at the sky. At the sight of him, they came to a halt. Turning around, Sasuke didn't look at all surprised to see them - which didn't surprise the team, since they knew of Sasuke's keen perception – their presence must have been detected earlier. Giving his pursuers an unfriendly look, he made a motion to ready himself for battle, but there was a lack of intensity compared to his earlier encounters with them.

Noticing this subtle difference, Naruto frowned slightly. Leaping forward with a cry of "Rasengan!" Naruto began his sprint, gathering chakra in his palm.

"Wait!" shouted Kakashi, but it was too late to do anything.

Eyes glowing red, Sasuke gave a malicious grin, ready to make another heavy blow at Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage.

Smirking, Naruto plunged the rasengan into the earth, shattering the cliff top upon which Sasuke stood. Before Sasuke could find a foothold, Naruto propelled himself off the cliff, catching Sasuke in midair so there was no chance for either of them to go backwards. Pinning Sasuke's arms to his sides so there was no chance he could alter his flight path, they began to plummet towards the river far below.

Surprised and angry, Sasuke looked at Naruto, since those actions were leaving many openings from an attacking point of view. He could see a non-malicious determination, which meant Naruto could tell something had happened beforehand. Frowning and gritting his teeth, Sasuke resigned himself to their flight path, and readied himself for the landing below.

It was only their advanced use of chakra which prevented them from being killed from such a high fall. Coming up for air, Naruto swam, pulling Sasuke, towards a half-hidden opening of a cave, which was probably only visible from ground level. Angry at simply being dragged around, Sasuke allowed Naruto to pull him along, keeping in mind he could kill Naruto at any time and wearing a predatory look on his face as revenge for the insult.

Stepping out of the river onto the cave floor, and keeping his back to Sasuke, Naruto said "I want to know what happened."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Do you? And why would I tell you? I don't owe you anything."

Angry that Sasuke appeared indifferent to the amount of work he had put into the friendship, and how much he had suffered for Sasuke, Naruto turned around and strongly met his gaze.

"You'd tell me because you're alone, which is a hell I wouldn't wish on anyone. Normally you wouldn't waste any time destroying ties with us and Konoha, but this time you don't seem so eager to fight and I want to know WHY."

Sasuke was exposed and he didn't like it; he continued to stare at Naruto in a threatening way.

"Sasuke, I firmly believe that we would be friends right now if there wasn't something that stopped you. Despite what you say, I know that you liked the feeling of belonging, of sharing. Isn't that true?"

Letting out a small "hm", Sasuke looked to the side. "It doesn't matter," he replied. It was true he valued his companions, but this feeling had been abandoned for what he considered to be a higher priority.

"I want you to trust me, and trust my abilities. I'm good at channeling the kyuubi's chakra now."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, trying to determine if it was only a simple boast, and slightly surprised that Naruto chose to offer him help as a response to his statement.

Naruto continued. "I know you prefer to work on your own, but I want to know what's happening. You can still work on your own, but at least we know what we're facing, and can perhaps help in another location. I promise I won't go off and do my own thing, or act like an idiot."

"Impossible," Sasuke said, smiling a little when Naruto became flustered. But there was some truth; he didn't believe that Naruto or the others were at his level, and were therefore a burden.

Pleased that Sasuke had made a friendly jab even though he knew Sasuke would continue to make his mission the priority, Naruto said "You can trust me. I want to know everything that happened."

Even though Sasuke made an effort to not be affected by others and their wishes, he could sense that Naruto had become stronger. He didn't have any hopes that Naruto and the others actually could help against Madara's plans, but telling him was an easy way to get them to leave him alone, assuming they could be convinced to do so. Or he could give them an unimportant task to distract them. But this was also a test of strength; could he mention the past with all its emotional turmoil and still be indifferent to it?

"Fine," replied Sasuke. "I'll tell you the history of the clan. But you must accept my advice for your actions later. If you don't... if there's the slightest chance you would get in the way, I'll kill you." Angry at the threat, but wanting to find a resolution and realising he needed to trust Sasuke as well, Naruto gave a nod.

Sitting themselves down, Sasuke mentioned about what happened the night the clan was destroyed, the conditions behind gaining the mangekyou sharingan, his brother's words and advice when they had fought after their first meeting in years, the Akatsuki's beginning, Madara's actions in the past and his current place in the Akatsuki, the final battle with Itachi, Itachi's transference of eye techniques, and the way Madara had turned his world upside down by mentioning that Itachi had wanted to protect him all this time.

"All along, killing my brother was my only goal in life. And he was right; the hatred did make me stronger. But now I find out that he wasn't the monster I thought he was, that Madara instigated the attack on the clan, that Itachi only killed his best friend in self defense… and I killed him. He sacrificed his life for me, and I couldn't even thank him."

Speechless, Naruto remembered his fight with Sasuke at the waterfall, realising now that Sasuke chose to not kill him, letting go of the mangekyou. Removing his forehead protector, he gazed at the symbol, gaining strength from the bonds within the village… and realising Sasuke's pain at wanting his brother's affection, overcoming the grief and steeling himself to cause his brother's downfall, and then realising he had his brother's affection all along. He looked back to Sasuke.

Sasuke was looking down, with clenched fists and jaw, and trying to remain unaffected. His arms started to shake, and he began to stare forward blankly, eyes widening and muttering something.

"Sasuke, I can't hear you…"said Naruto, leaning forward.

Suddenly, Sasuke reacted, and with a gaze like a threatened animal, swiped at Naruto. Naruto was just able to pull back, but Sasuke's fingertips made slight contact with his forehead.

Recovering and standing up, Naruto put on his forehead protector. He intuitively knew what he had to do.

"Sasuke, stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can. Trust me." He grinned, and gave his 'nice guy' pose.

Still in that state, Sasuke turned and looked at Naruto with a frown on his forehead, not showing any kind of confidence in Naruto's words. There was no guarantee that Sasuke would wait, but Naruto also knew that Sasuke wouldn't let anyone see him like that. He had to hurry.

Disappearing, Naruto raced at the speed of a bullet out an opening near the top of the cave.

--

Seeing Naruto's actions against Sasuke, Kakashi could sense that something other than a typical battle was happening. Not wanting to interfere, he decided to wait, letting the team rest.

Later, he noticed a speck of orange in the distance speeding away from their location. Nonchalantly giving the order for the team to wait while he scouted the area, he disappeared in pursuit of Naruto.

Coming to a landing point, he could see many ninja from the hidden village of cloud lying on the ground, unconscious. From their positions, it looked as if they had been guarding the wagon nearby. Fully alert, Kakashi approached, not liking the sense that this was something unusual for Naruto to do, especially at a time like this.

Entering the wagon, he could see Naruto using a strong medical jutsu on a body wrapped in cloth. The amount of green chakra was almost blinding. He knew something was wrong – Naruto didn't know medical jutsu.

"Kakashi," Naruto said, surprised and annoyed.

Always preferring to play dumb to let his opponents reveal themselves, Kakashi looked at Naruto with mild surprise and said "What's all this about, Naruto?"

"I can't tell you yet," was Naruto's reply.

Disliking the cold expression in Naruto's eyes, Kakashi started to move forward.

"Mangekyou sharingan!" shouted Naruto, with black blades on a red background appearing in each eye.

Shocked, Kakashi couldn't help but be engulfed by the jutsu. He wasn't being tortured this time, but instead was being shown scenes of the Uchiha clan's demise, over and over again. Coming out of it and gasping for breath after what felt like a day, Kakashi regained his balance and leaped forward to attack.

"Stay back!" Naruto said. He had taken a kunai from his holster using his spare hand and was holding it against his own throat.

Keeping his distance, Kakashi said angrily "Itachi Uchiha."

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A/N:

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I don't know if the guy who does own Naruto's first name is Kishimoto or Masashi.

I was basing 'previous encounters' from Shippuuden episode 1, where Sasuke tried to chop off Naruto's head. Also, even though there were many scripts of 398 (and all quite different), the one I felt was accurate was the one which showed Shisui attacking Itachi to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, and Itachi killing Shisui in self defense. That made sense to me, since it would explain why Itachi got angry at the clan police, when they showed him the suicide letter and were implying that Itachi had murdered Shisui. If Itachi was guilty, I don't think he would have attacked them.

I made Naruto and Sasuke's conversation a bit long, sorry… because I didn't want Sasuke to act out of character.

So, to make it clear, I made it so Itachi transferred his whole consciousness, not just the eye techniques, into Sasuke. In turn, Sasuke transferred Itachi into Naruto, with the techniques.

And I assumed the unintelligible words Itachi muttered to Sasuke were like a jutsu summoning.

There was a lot of talking, etc. but I wanted to make it in character as much as I could. Hopefully the privacy of the cave would allow them to open up more?

Next chappy: Sasuke meets Itachi again.

I hope you enjoyed it! If you feel inclined to review, I'd appreciate it!


	2. Reunion

Grinning, Naruto said "I must compliment the kyuubi's energy. It has greatly decreased the amount of time needed for this jutsu."

The body wrapped in cloth started to breathe. Releasing the jutsu but still keeping the knife against his throat, Naruto removed the cloth from the face and lightly touched the forehead while softly muttering something.

The familiar wide-eyed expression returned to Naruto, who leapt back with an "AHHHH!" when he realised he was holding a dagger to his own throat.

With a murderous look in his eye, Kakashi started charging Chidori, hoping Itachi was disoriented enough from the body transfer to not be able to counter his attack. A quick and decisive defeat was needed to ensure his companion was no longer in any danger, given that Naruto was still within arm's reach of Itachi.

Itachi sat up, looking at the furious Kakashi with an unaffected gaze.

Furious with rage, Kakashi shouted "Chidori!" and leapt forward, hoping Itachi's attention would remain on his attack only.

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei!" yelled Naruto, jumping in front of Itachi.

Frozen, Kakashi's face remained centimetres away from Naruto's, who was the same distance from Itachi. Surprised at how quickly Kakashi had moved, Naruto gasped as he looked down to see the chidori ball of chakra almost touching his rib cage. Recovering from the shock quickly, Kakashi let the chidori dispel, and looked at Itachi to ascertain the situation. Both himself and Naruto had been vulnerable for a second, but Itachi hadn't made any movement.

Maintaining eye contact with Itachi, Kakashi stood up straight, distrust still strong in his eyes.

"It would take too long to explain here, Kakashi-san, but as you can see, Naruto has discovered that I am not the enemy. If you follow us back to Sasuke, you can see to your own satisfaction."

"Yes, there's no time to waste, Kakashi-sensei! We have to go back, otherwise Sasuke might have left!" Naruto exclaimed, running out the wagon.

Not in the slightest bit persuaded by Itachi's story, Kakashi followed Naruto.

The three of them raced through the trees. With killing ki rising, Kakashi placed himself between Itachi and Naruto. Despite the information he had from his notes on Itachi's behaviour as an S-class criminal, his encounter with Itachi had left him in no doubt of his sinister capabilities. Luckily Gai had been there to save him. He had been mentally destroyed through the mangekyou, administered by Itachi with cold indifference. The ones who could keep their emotions in check were always the most dangerous. Not for a second did he believe that Itachi had changed, but his first priority was to protect Naruto. He pushed on through the trees, silently daring Itachi to give him the slightest reason to tear him to shreds.

"We're here!" cried Naruto delightedly, as he dropped through the opening in the cave roof. Daylight was fading slowly, but there was still enough to illuminate the inside.

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto, looking around excitedly as he landed. The other two landed silently. There was no sign of Sasuke.

"He's not here," Naruto said, downcast, clenching his fist and trembling.

"But you did ask him to wait," said Itachi, peering at the shadows in the cave.

Suddenly a voice rang out. "A shadow clone transformation? Was that your brilliant idea?" Naruto looked around trying to locate him, but it was too difficult with the echoes in the cave. A kunai swiftly travelled towards Itachi.

In that same instant, Itachi flew forward, catching the kunai in midair, located Sasuke and pushed him against the cave wall, holding the kunai at his throat.

"No, it's me," Itachi said.

Convinced by his skill and speed, Sasuke gasped. "I…ta… chi… how could this be?" Itachi lowered the kunai.

"I mastered a soul transfer jutsu, so I transferred myself into you, not just my techniques. Then I transferred from you to Naruto, and with the help of the kyuubi, I revived my old body quickly. As I had expected, Madara sold the body to the Cloud country as it was valuable to them to investigate the Sharingan bloodline limit."

Sasuke leapt forward, hugging Itachi and burying his face in his chest. Tears started flowing from Sasuke's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Itachi said quietly.

Amidst chokes, Sasuke replied "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you."

Itachi smiled and gently caressed the back of Sasuke's head. "But if you hadn't thought of me that way, Madara would have surely killed you." Sasuke looked up, surprised, but then placed his head on Itachi's chest again, giving quiet sobs amidst tears of joy.

Kakashi, who had been uneasy at Itachi's close proximity, was astonished at Sasuke's change towards his brother. Now knowing that he was unaware of the full story, he relaxed his guard.

After a few minutes, Sasuke let go of hold and, still a bit teary, turned to the others. He had a dreamy look and a faint smile. "Arigato, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto just went "hee hee" with a huge smile and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed but genuinely glad that Sasuke looked happy. Kakashi smiled and went "Hai, hai." Sasuke looked touched and grateful for their friendly attitude.

"It's time to rest," said Itachi.

"Wait, niisan," said Sasuke, looking at the ground. He grabbed Itachi's arm. "I want to know everything that happened."

Surprised that he would ask this, Itachi looked at him directly. "There is no time."

Sasuke raised his head and with wide eyes from his strong emotions, said "Show me."

Itachi's mouth opened slightly. He could see it meant a lot to Sasuke, and that reason was good enough. "Very well. Mangekyou sharingan!"

Sasuke was transported to the familiar zone, where everything appeared in red, white and black. Itachi was standing next to him, to describe exactly what was happening, but he was also clutching his brother's hand.

They were at the ceremony where Itachi was granted ANBU squad leader status – an exceptionally high privilege for any age, but more so because Itachi was so young. After the celebration, Itachi took a walk as was his solitary nature.

"Can someone as young as you be reliable as an ANBU captain?"

Itachi spun around to face a man. He hadn't felt the approach, almost as if that person had just appeared behind him. Curious about his longevity and also his techniques, Itachi warily agreed to become his student once his identity was revealed as Madara Uchiha.

The scene changed to a few months later, where Itachi was walking to meet Shisui at his request, even though it meant not going to an important clan meeting. He trusted Shisui, and for them both to disobey the elders meant it was urgent, but Itachi had no idea. He was alerted by a flicker of antagonism from the bushes, and quickly dodged the volley of kunai that flew towards him.

"Reveal yourself," he ordered. Out stepped Shisui, with a ravenous look.

"My apologies, Itachi… but I will be taking the Mangekyou now. You have my gratitude for your sacrifice." He now zipped around the bushes, throwing kunai so quickly it was hard to tell that only one person was attacking.

"Shisui! Have you gone insane?" yelled Itachi, in disbelief. Bewildered and dismayed, he still managed to dodge the kunai. He tried to counter with non-lethal attacks to only disable Shisui, but his own reluctance to fight and the fact that Shisui was fighting with everything he had made it difficult for him to get an opening. He was getting hit mercilessly, and Shisui remained untouched. Lethal attacks were more reflexive than ones to capture the enemy. Itachi poised himself, ready to fight Shisui with more strength.

Shisui laughed, and said "No matter what you do or say, Itachi, this will only end in your death." With that he grabbed Itachi and plunged them both into the river. After a few minutes, Itachi surfaced. He dragged himself out and stood there, fists clenched in frustration and hurt.

"I thought you would defeat him," came a voice from the shadows.

"Did you make him do that?" he spat, with a murderous glare.

"No, not at all," replied Madara coolly. "I simply informed him of what it was like to have the mangekyou sharingan, and mentioned the spot under the mat in the Uchiha temple. You see, he was also my student. And how did you kill him?"

"A single kunai to the stomach," replied Itachi, still shaking with anger but wanting his enemy to remain within his sight.

"Then I suggest you make it look like suicide." Cocking his head, Madara added "Don't go after me just yet. The advisors want to meet you to give you special ANBU orders. Dress appropriately. I'll see you later." With that he disappeared.

Keeping his emotions inside and clinging to the structure to distract him, Itachi obeyed the orders from Konoha and sped back home to gather his ANBU gear and meet the advisors.

What he heard was beyond belief. "You are now a follower of Uchiha Madara. Konoha has a debt to him, as promised by the First Hokage. He has asked for you as a servant. The penalty of not obeying his orders is the activation of the curse on Konoha, which will destroy everything," the Third said, with his two advisors next to him. "Can you commit to this?"

Realising the gravity of the situation since it was against the Third's nature to ask for this, Itachi replied "Hai."

Gazing strongly at Itachi to make sure he would stay true to his resolve, he said "Madara will give you your orders in the training place now. We honour you for your sacrifice."

Bowing his head, Itachi sped off. He was still numb from Shisui's actions and now he had a sick feeling in his stomach from thinking about Madara's intentions. The man thrived on anguish. But he steeled himself, trusting that the Third had no other option. He alighted in front of a dark figure lazily sitting on a rock.

"Very good, boy," said Madara. "I trust you've agreed to Konoha's demands." Itachi nodded, with restrained fury behind his eyes. Madara chuckled. "So much hatred already… you will be strong indeed. But this will make you stronger still, and test your capability. Your first orders are to kill everyone in the Uchiha clan and join my organisation, Akatsuki. And be careful with what you say or do. If at any time you disobey my orders, I can activate the curse on Konoha. It doesn't make much difference to me, but it saves a little time in my plans to have these people alive, for now."

Itachi stood in shock, but he knew he had to follow the orders. He bowed his head.

"Dismissed," said Madara. Itachi flew away.

It was the day of the designated time to strike. Thinking of the past few days while tying his shoe, he had managed to publicly disgrace himself in front of his father by insulting the clan, and he lost his cool when he had been accused of murdering Shisui. But these people were all going to die anyway. It didn't matter what they thought. Interrupted by Sasuke entering the room, Itachi found himself promising a foolishly hopeful Sasuke to train him the next day, as usual. _But now there is no tomorrow._ Lost in this thought for a moment, he got up, and ignored his brother's pouting to exit the house. He couldn't help but adore the selfish but cute Sasuke, the darling of the household.

Meeting with Madara at dusk, he said, "Madara-sama, as I have the mangekyou now, would it not be wise to keep one person alive to avoid the impending blindness?"

Madara looked at him, seeing through his actions, but instinctively wanting to preserve his own dominance. "True, Itachi. I assume it is Sasuke you are thinking of. On one condition – you must make Sasuke strong. Remember, you are my servant until you die."

Nodding in agreement, Itachi wondered if he really was saving his brother. He knew what Madara had meant by strength – hatred. He had to build hatred in Sasuke. And he knew his brother, knew exactly what to say to hurt him. _A life in agony or death_… but the decision to keep Sasuke alive had already been made. He hated Madara's twisted ways, and from this point on, kept looking for ways outwit Madara while seeming to obey commands. Taking a breath, he steeled himself for the oncoming slaughter. They were dead people the moment Madara decided so. It was a choice between either them or all of Konoha. He had to do this, as quickly and as painlessly for them as possible. _This clan really is cursed_, he thought as they moved into attack position.

"And you know the rest," said Itachi to Sasuke. Sasuke looked as if he was caught in a mixture of shock, anger and joy. Shock at the extreme circumstances, anger at Madara for causing the situation and joy at realising his brother's decent intentions, that he was loved after all.

"Aniki," said Sasuke, looking to Itachi with eyes full of emotion. Itachi weakly returned the gaze.

"You've done well, aniki," said Sasuke, pulling Itachi close. Itachi remained silent, and hugged his brother who was so precious to him, and who was so understanding and forgiving. He was delighted to see how much he meant to Sasuke, which was evident from Sasuke's happiness at knowing he was cared for, despite all the misery he had endured. Even though he had done the honourable thing to the best of his ability, his heart still felt he needed forgiveness.

"Are you able to fight Madara?" asked Sasuke, serious for a moment.

"Of course, otouto," was the reply with a faint smile. "My obligation to him ended when I died."

Sasuke smiled. "So that was your plan. I thought you were holding back when we were fighting, aniki. You didn't seem your usual dexterous self for some reason."

Itachi grinned. "Well, no… I wasn't allowed to hold back, but I did continuous work for a few days and nights beforehand."

They remained in the tsukiyomi space for a few hours more, allowing them both to be satiated with their warm regard for each other.

Coming back to real time, Sasuke's expression immediately changed to one of a dreamlike happiness.

"I had better let the others know where I am," said Kakashi.

"Wait, Kakashi-san," said Itachi. "If you told them, they would want to be involved in the battle with Madara. Madara's ability is such that each one of them would be fighting one-on-one with him. He destroys any teamwork, and any encouragement they get from the idea of teamwork will only get them killed. Would you send each one of them off to battle Madara alone?"

"No," replied Kakashi.

"If they're skilled enough to find the battle site then they can join," said Itachi. "Now we need to rest. Tomorrow I'll go over my knowledge of Madara's skills and we can devise a strategy."

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A/N: Ooooookaaaaayyyy…. Chapter 398 DIDN'T have Itachi killing Shisui in self defense… that was obviously someone's joke… but I'm keeping it there because it made me get all WAFFy. So this is now an AU fic, but not. --;;;; Credits for the Shisui storyline to whatever anonymous PRICK posted it. –shakes fist- ;)

Standard disclaimers apply.

Man, the flashback was long… I was debating whether or not to put it in or not, but I wanted to explain what happened and vindicate Itachi.

Thank you to those who reviewed, or added to favourites, or added to update list. n-n

Next chapter: battle.

And I forgot to say, the title is "Resolved" because it signifies a finale, but also their dedication, that they're resolved to fight.


	3. Showdown

After refreshing themselves they gathered around to hear Itachi's advice.

"Even I'm not entirely sure of Madara's ability. It seems that he can hyperspace and also alter the mass of his body from almost nonexistent to harder than steel."

The news was more than discouraging. "Maybe we need some kryptonite," muttered Naruto, frustrated at the lack of a clear plan.

After staring at Naruto blankly for a few moments, Itachi continued. "I've memorised his attack and defense patterns, but I don't think we should rely on them since Madara doesn't trust me, and he probably fabricated the patterns to mislead us."

Kakashi frowned. "Is there any clue as to how he manipulates his body?"

"Well, we know he can make what he touches behave the same way – if he couldn't, then his mask or clothes couldn't follow him," said Itachi.

"So we have to get him naked," said Naruto, frowning in concentration.

"How did you come up with that, dobe?" retorted Sasuke, irritated.

"Well, he's human – I wouldn't like to fight naked," said Naruto, giving a sheepish grin.

Sasuke didn't even bother responding to that. Turning to Itachi, he asked "Is there any sign of exhaustion from using his abilities?"

"He hasn't once shown that he's drained of energy by using them, and he can fight for hours at a time."

"But he must be using chakra?" asked Sasuke, exasperated.

"Of course."

Kakashi had a thoughtful look. "Perhaps Naruto's plan isn't a bad one…"

Everyone looked at him in surprise, including Naruto.

Kakashi continued. "There may be a possibility that there is something underneath his clothing, or his clothing itself that is helping him to retain energy. Being rivals with Gai-sensei has taught me that, given his specialised suit."

Itachi frowned. "That may be true – he usually bathes by himself. Well, to be more accurate, the others had avoided him as much as possible when he was annoying everyone as Tobi." Getting no response, he added "In any case, when we attack, be aware that he likes to appear behind someone and kill them instantly. So watch your backs, and be careful not to fall into an attack pattern yourself – we can't have him predicting our movements. And attack him as if you were the only one fighting. Like I said before, he destroys teamwork."

Everyone gave a nod showing their agreement, and Itachi nodded in response. They leapt to the trees, going towards the battlefield.

--

Coming to land on a rock, the team saw Madara casually leaning against a tree, looking at them expectantly.

"Coming to get your revenge, Itachi?" Madara said sardonically.

Angry, Itachi replied "We've come to stop your trail of destruction."

"You can have whatever motives you want, Itachi," replied Madara coldly. "It's the one with the most power who wins."

"You'll never defeat me. You've abandoned the strongest source of power – a power which I have," replied Itachi.

"Yes, your love for your little brother," said Madara, rolling his eyes. "But I say that hatred is stronger." Coming to an attack stance, he added "And there's only one way to find out." Smashing his fist into the ground, he caused shards of rock to fly in all directions.

The shinobi team immediately jumped backwards to safety, but before Itachi could land, Madara appeared above him and punched him hard, causing them both to fly in opposite directions. Dust flew everywhere from Itachi's landing, but he managed to regain his stance, while Madara eventually started to fall from the sky.

From a tree branch, Sasuke threw a kunai in Madara's flight path, but Madara disappeared and suddenly Sasuke was kicked from behind. Not being able to alter his flight path, Sasuke grabbed shuriken to defend himself before he reached something solid. Seeing this, Naruto yelled "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" and rushed in to engage Madara, distracting him from Sasuke. Sasuke hit the ground with a sickening crack, and he tried to get to his feet, clutching his rib cage.

Attacking the horde of Narutos, Madara appeared and disappeared in various places, giving precise hits, destroying more than one clone each time he attacked. With the last gone, Madara appeared before Naruto, and, still having his momentum from before he hyperspaced, gave a kick which sent Naruto flying behind a distant rock. Kakashi and Itachi were moving into attack positions, but they were unable to help Naruto or Sasuke – the fights were too sudden and too far away; they'd only be wasting energy to try and involve themselves each time. Not to say they couldn't use Madara's distractions to their advantage.

Kakashi sprinted forward, throwing thin wires, hoping to control the space and therefore his opponent's movements. Madara simply phased through them, and lifted his arm, ready to strike. Kakashi raised his own hand to block, but Madara's arm went through his own but the fist connected with his cheek. It was like being hit by a tonne of lead: it was inhuman. Kakashi reeled back, relying on the position of the ground against his feet to know which way was up.

Madara's hand was suddenly engulfed in black flame, causing him to jump, and then his whole body disappeared in the blackness. Bleeding tears, Itachi kept his eye trained, following Madara's every movement. The flames were losing their bulk. Suddenly Itachi was hit from below – Madara had phased through the ground and had kicked him in the air. Now pushing off the ground, he repeatedly punched Itachi, who tried his best to twist in the air to minimise the damage but couldn't avoid all the attacks. After grabbing Itachi's hair and smashing his knee into his chin, Madara broke away, giving Itachi one last kick in the stomach and came to a safe landing.

Still having the presence of mind to try to land, Itachi maneuvered his feet under him and braced himself for the split second timing he would need to reduce the impact. Kakashi came to a ready stance, and Naruto raced from behind the rock to join Kakashi. Dirt was sprayed everywhere as Itachi landed.

Spluttering on the ground, Itachi coughed up blood.

"Looks like you don't have enough hatred to defeat me, Itachi," spat Madara. "Perhaps I should fix that."

Madara appeared behind Sasuke and twisted Sasuke's reflexive swipe so he had Sasuke in a stranglehold. The pressure increased, and Sasuke's face contorted in pain as his neck came closer to being snapped.

Itachi and Kakashi stood there in shock, but Naruto instantly charged forward, releasing the Kyuubi which caused him to be a few times faster than usual.

"Don't!" screamed Itachi. "Sharingan can suppress the Kyuubi chakra!"

With cold eyes, Madara released his internal command, which changed Naruto back to normal and caused him to be thrown backwards. Hitting a rock, Naruto disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Surprised, Madara now turned around to see the real Naruto jumping towards him from a tree, ready to swipe. Madara instinctively moved his head to avoid the attack. However, Naruto wasn't aiming for his head, and there was a ripping sound as Madara's shirt was torn off.

Naruto gave a gleeful expression at his success, staring at Madara's exposed chest. Madara stood there, perplexed, and Naruto's eyes began to widen as he realised there wasn't anything special about the clothes given Madara's confused reaction. "Sick," he heard Madara whisper. Taken aback, Naruto blushed at what Madara must have assumed about his intentions, but needing to give the others time to regroup, he clenched his fists and blurted out "I've never been laid before!" Madara stood there for a half a moment, stunned.

"Now, Naruto!" shouted Kakashi as both he and Itachi charged forward with their Mangekyou sharingans activated. Naruto jumped up and tore Sasuke away.

Madara turned his attention to Itachi as he was the most powerful, having two Sharingans, and released his own Mangekyou, causing Itachi to falter a moment later, having experienced extensive torture for a lengthy period of time.

Kakashi activated his unique Mangekyou, warping the space around Madara. Madara looked unimpressed and started to fade, but was captured by Itachi's eyes.

"Mangekyou Sharingan," Itachi growled.

Madara was disoriented for a few seconds after being released, and that was all that was needed to allow him to be sucked through to another dimension. Kakashi fell to his knees from exhaustion, and Itachi fell backwards onto the ground.

"Aniki!" shouted Sasuke, running forward, ignoring the pain coursing through his chest. "Are you OK?"

Opening his eyes a bit, Itachi replied in a weak voice "I'll recover, Sasuke." He didn't even lift his hand to give Sasuke a comforting pat, and Sasuke was distressed by this, knowing the pain must have been great if it prevented him from moving.

"I'll recover," Itachi said again, then his eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness.

"Aniki!" yelled Sasuke, and he reached forward but was stopped by the searing pain near his ribs. Gasping, he fell to the ground. Naruto rushed over, but was distracted by the rest of their team rushing towards them.

"Sasuke!" exclaimed Sakura, moving forward to help him.

"Don't help me – help my brother," said Sasuke through gritted teeth. Surprised but trusting Sasuke, she put her hand on Itachi's forehead and began her medical jutsu. The others did what they could to help Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto. Thanks to the power of the Kyuubi, Naruto was already recovering from his injuries.

After a while, Sakura moved her hand to Itachi's chest, and then to Itachi's stomach. Breathing a sigh of relief, she said "That should be enough," and quickly turned her attention to Sasuke's ribs.

"I don't have enough chakra to heal you completely," she struggled to say. Her exhaustion was showing; the beads of sweat were gathered on her brow and her eyes were unfocused. Still she continued her jutsu. "But this should be enough to make you more comfortable, as long as you don't move your arm."

Kakashi limped over, concerned that Sakura was straining herself too much. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as his pain was significantly diminished, and at that, Sakura fell backwards and was caught by Kakashi.

The team rested as Sakura and Itachi lay unconscious, carefully observed by Sasuke. After a few hours, Itachi began to stir.

"Aniki!" said Sasuke gladly, as he staggered over, delightedly. Itachi's eyes focused and there was a small smile on his lips. Raising his hand, he lightly stroked Sasuke's cheek, causing Sasuke to have a look of sheer happiness. Sensing the observation, Itachi turned to look at Sakura – she had just woken as well, and was smiling at the look on Sasuke's face which she had never seen before. She was truly glad that Sasuke was finally happy.

Sitting up, she said "Well, I guess we can all go home now."

Sasuke glanced at Itachi, then looked at Sakura. "I can't go back. Me and my brother will share the same fate, and I don't think the villagers will understand his actions enough to pardon him." Naruto and Sakura couldn't hide their disappointment. Pleased at their attachment, Sasuke added "But we'll stay in the mountains close to Konoha, and you can visit us whenever you like." Naruto and Sakura's faces lifted – it wasn't the best outcome, but at least they could continue to see Sasuke, and it was obvious that he also wanted to continue the friendship.

Itachi added, "And you can call on us whenever you need help."

Naruto grinned and said "I will!" excited about working together.

Sasuke smirked. "But not too often, dobe – we'd like to get some sleep occasionally." Itachi looked at Sasuke, amused yet silently cautioning him against his insolence, while Naruto glared at him, insulted.

"Well!" said Sakura, smiling brightly, changing the topic. "How about we start to go home and all of you can tell us how you defeated that guy?"

Rising to his feet, Itachi replied "Even though we didn't plan to fight as a team, it was teamwork which ultimately allowed us to overcome Madara."

"And Naruto played a big part," said Sasuke, smirking. Naruto stared at him, shocked at the compliment.

"You're full of surprises," said Kakashi affectionately to Naruto, who smiled widely. "Although what you said wasn't that much of a surprise." Naruto's face immediately fell, and he gritted his teeth, both livid and embarrassed.

"Why? What did Naruto say?" asked Sakura cheerfully, wanting to be let in on the joke.

Kakashi gave an embarrassed laugh, scratching the back of his head. Naruto froze, blushing, then turned around with a wide grin.

"I'll be happy to tell you everything over a candlelit dinner, Sakura-chan," he schmoozed.

Sakura's brow creased. After a few moments, she said "OK," glaring at him. She couldn't help that she was a nosy female.

"WHAT?!" yelled Naruto, jaw dropping. "No no no no no!" He turned around again and started sprinting.

"Naruto!" exclaimed Sakura, frustrated. Running after him, she shouted "Naruto! Tell me what it is!"

"Nooooooooo" came a faint sound from the distance.

"Dobe," said Sasuke under his breath.

"This new era should be an interesting one if he is the future Hokage," said Itachi. Kakashi smiled and nodded in agreement.

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A/N – Sorry it's been a while! I was a bit unsure about the fight scene and how to defeat Madara – we still don't know how he does what he does (I'm up to chapter 404 at the moment, which is current). And if you didn't know, Superman is referred to as 'the man of steel' and he's allergic to kryptonite.

Dobe – 'idiot'

Aniki – 'older brother'

-chan – 'little' (a cute suffix)

I don't actually think Naruto is that stupid. But entertainment over OOCiness ;P (I feel like a female Jiraiya sometimes x3)


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